Psychological Co morbidity in Children and Adolescents with Learning DisordersBeenaJohnsonauthorSchools play a crucial and formative role in the spheres of cognitive, language, emotional,
social and moral development of a child (Kapur, 1995). Academic skills such as reading,
writing and mathematics form the foundations upon which a student’s performance at
school is assessed. A learning problem may therefore engender feelings of anxiety,
inadequacy and shame, leading to behavioral disturbances in children of school age. Any
negative feedback from school is likely to have an impact on the
emotional, social and family functioning of a child.
Children with learning disorders (LD) are those who exhibit academic difficulties out of
proportion to their intellectual capacities. They have impaired ability in learning the
academic skills of reading, writing, arithmetic or spelling. As per the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual – IV (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) learning
disorders are of four types: Reading disorder, Mathematics disorder, Disorder of written
expression and Learning disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). Estimates of the
prevalence of learning disorders range from 2% to 10% depending on the nature of
ascertainment and the definitions applied (APA, 1994).Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health2005-01Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental HealthJournal (Paginated)